Michigan DUI and Driver’s License Restoration Cases

EVIDENCE - An experienced Michigan DUI lawyer knows that OWI cases are won or lost based upon the evidence. We will carefully examine everything about your case. Beyond just getting the police report, it is standard practice in my office to begin our examination by obtaining and watching the dash-cam video of the traffic stop and all the things that led to your arrest.

DUI cases don’t dismiss themselves. The way to find any problems with the evidence and a way out of the charge is to carefully evaluate and investigate EVERYTHING that's relevant. In my office, we don’t settle for merely doing a good job - we do everything humanly and legally possible to make sure we produce the very best results in every case.

Even if the evidence against you turns out to be solid, we will work out the most lenient outcome possible, wherever in the Detroit-area your case is pending. Knowledge may be power, but experience means knowing how to use it to your best advantage.

WHEN IT COMES TO MONEY AND CONSULTATIONS, we are completely upfront about fees and publish them here, on this site. As a criminal and DUI law office serving Michigan, my team and I provide exceptional representation in our specific areas of practice.

To make things as convenient and simple as possible, all case screenings are done over the phone (confidentially, of course), right when you call. My office is completely transparent about cost. We don't try to drag someone in for a “free consultation" before talking money. Instead, my prices are clearly listed at the top of every page on this site, under “FEES." When you reach out, we'll be glad to answer your questions and explain how things work.

A CRIMINAL or DUI CASE in the Greater-Detroit (Tri-County) area is different than one being heard in some distant Michigan Court. This is precisely why we concentrate our criminal and DUI practice in Oakland, Macomb and Wayne Counties. If you have been charged with a criminal or OWI offense anywhere in Metro-Detroit, you need a lawyer who regularly appears in the court where your case is pending. To produce the best results possible in criminal and DUI cases, we keep it local, and have the experience and knowledge to get things done right.

AS MICHIGAN DUI LAWYERS, we know that the most important part of every drunk driving case that goes through the court system is the mandatory alcohol assessment and probation interview that takes place before sentencing.

My team and I have a unique knowledge of and ability to prepare you for this crucial step. Everything done and said at this stage, including how well (or not) you score on the written alcohol screening test, has a profound effect on what ultimately happens to you.

After your completed test is scored, a scoring key is used to determine whether the court will conclude you have, or are at risk to develop a drinking problem (or not). Next, you will be interviewed by a probation officer. Then, the probation officer must, based upon your alcohol test score and the information he or she gets from interviewing you, send a formal sentencing recommendation to the Judge advising him or her what should be done to you.

Every Judge, in every court, follows this recommendation very closely. Given this reality, it’s never enough for a lawyer to merely stand next to the client in court and try and talk the Judge out of following that recommendation.

Getting a better outcome in your case requires getting a better recommendation in the first place, and we will make sure you get the very best, period.

Beyond my legal education, I have also completed a formal, post-graduate program of addiction studies. I use this specialized clinical training to make sure that every one of my clients gets an important advantage by thoroughly preparing them to do as well as possible on the mandatory written alcohol assessment test and during the interview with the probation officer required in all OWI cases.

Because of this, I am not just "another" DUI lawyer in Michigan, but rather a unique practitioner who thoroughly understands the development, diagnosis and treatment of alcohol problems. My team and I specifically use this knowledge to ensure that each of my clients achieves the best, most lenient possible outcome possible.

To do that, we have a separate meeting with every DUI client, before he or she ever meets with the probation officer, for the specific purpose of prepping for that mandatory alcohol assessment test and probation interview.

Sure, results matter, but getting the absolute best results possible means actually doing something - something different - to make sure that happens.

When you are standing in front of the Judge to be sentenced, you need the comfort of knowing you have the best legal help and protection possible right by your side. This is the moment where everything comes together. Every word uttered here (and every word left unspoken) will matter more than at just about any other point in your life. Here is when having hired the right Michigan DUI lawyer will makes a difference in what happens to you.

As you read through my site and the hundreds of blog articles I have written, you can easily pick up on my approach and get a sense of how I do and explain things, and why my team and I are different. This is usually obvious within the first few lines of everything I write. If you hire my office, this is the same voice that will speak on your behalf.

IF YOU HAVE A PROFESSIONAL LICENSE, you have additional concerns, and my office is particularly able to help with that. We offer effective representation at all stages of the administrative (including reporting) and court processes for those who hold a professional license through LARA (the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs) and have been charged with a DUI or any criminal offense involving alcohol or drugs.

Our focus is on the potential disciplinary aspects of such convictions, and avoiding difficult punitive and rehabilitative consequences. It's great to protect your license, but it's always better to do so without burdensome oversight and unnecessary treatment.

Whether your DUI charge is a 1st offense, 2nd offense or even a 3rd offense (felony), your interests must be carefully and intelligently protected. Good results are the product of good work, not good luck. I will protect your driver's license, your job, and your freedom so that you can keep your life intact.

WE NEVER ENGAGE IN FEAR-BASED MARKETING. The section below outlines many of the potential legal consequences of the various Michigan OWI charges. Many (if not most) of them will simply never happen as a consequence of any charge brought in Oakland, Macomb or Wayne County. Everyone knows that a drunk driving charge is serious, but the truth is that it's probably not nearly as bad as you've been made to fear.

A first offense can be charged as an OWI or OWI with BAC Of .17 or higher (typically called a “High BAC” or “Superdrunk” offense).

1st Offense Operating While Intoxicated (OWI)

• $100 to $500 fine and one or more of the following:
  • Up to 93 days in jail
  • Up to 360 hours of community service.
• Driver's license suspension for 30 days, followed by license restrictions for 150 days.
• Possible vehicle immobilization.
• Possible ignition interlock.
• Six points added to driving record.

High Blood Alcohol Content (OWI with BAC of .17 or higher)

• One or more of the following:
  • Up to 180 days in jail
  • $200 to $700 fine
  • Up to 360 hours of community service.
• Driver's license suspension for 1 year. Eligible for restrictions after 45 days of suspension only with use of ignition interlock device.
• 6 points added to the offender's driving record.

A person can only be charged with a 2 ^nd offense if the prior DUI conviction occurred within 7 years from the time of his or her arrest for the new incident.

• $200 to $1000 fine, and one or more of the following:
  • 5 days to 1 year in jail
  • 30 to 90 days of community service.
• Driver's license revocation and denial for a minimum of 1 year.
• License plate confiscation.
• Vehicle immobilization for 90 to 180 days, unless the vehicle is forfeited.
• Possible vehicle forfeiture.
• 6 points added to the offender's driving record.

• $500 to $5,000 fine, and either of the following:
  • 1 to 5 years imprisonment
  • Probation, with minimum of 30 days, and up to 1 year in jail.
• 60 to 180 days community service.
• Driver's license revocation and denial if there are 2 convictions within 7 years or 3 convictions within 10 years. The minimum period of revocation and denial is 1 year (minimum of 5 years if there was a prior revocation within 7 years).
• License plate confiscation.
• Vehicle immobilization for 1 to 3 years, unless the vehicle is forfeited.
• Possible vehicle forfeiture.
• Vehicle registration denial.
• 6 points added to the offender's driving record.

In truth, most people can be kept out of jail in 2nd offense cases, and it’s even possible to avoid jail altogether in some 3rd offense cases, as well.

We'll make sure you can put this matter behind you and breathe easy again, and that starts by making sure you don't panic over things that really aren't on the menu in your DUI case in the first place.

Our office doesn’t use scare tactics or gimmicks. When you’re facing a 1st offense DUI, once we take the non-issue of jail off the menu, there are still plenty of other genuinely possible consequences to avoid, including losing your driver’s license and getting stuck in endless classes and counseling.

Why waste time talking about jail if you’re not going in the first place?

Because fear motivates people. As an honest law firm, we believe an important part of our job is to calm those fears, not exploit them.

IF YOU'VE LOST YOUR DRIVER'S LICENSE for multiple DUI's, my team and I guarantee to win it back from the Michigan Secretary of State, through its Administrative Hearing Section (now the AHS - formerly known as the DAAD). If you've moved out of state, we guarantee to obtain a clearance of the Secretary of State's hold on your driving record, no matter where in the world you live now. When we are done, you will be able to put a valid driver's license back into your wallet!

In driver’s license restoration cases, my office has a special and unique process that begins with an initial, 3-hour meeting with every client. There is no shortcut to avoid putting in the time to learn how and why a person made the decision to quit drinking, and how his or her life has changed in the time since.

We maintain complete control over every aspect of our license appeal cases, including the initial meeting, substance use evaluation, letters of support, and all the other required documents, everything that’s filed with the Michigan Secretary of state, and extends to preparing for the hearing, as well as the hearing itself. We make sure things are done right so you can get back on the road again, legally.

As genuine Michigan driver’s license restoration lawyers, we have a proven system to win your license appeal, and we back up our promises with a first-time win guarantee in every Michigan license restoration and clearance appeal case we file. This makes us as invested in winning as you, and means there's no risk - you'll only pay once to win your license back or get your clearance. You simply cannot do better than that.

THERE IS NO OFFICE more helpful or nicer than mine. My staff and I are friendly and down to earth. We'll be glad to answer your questions honestly and without any gimmicks or pressure tactics. Whether you're looking to win your driver's license back, or you need to hire a lawyer for a local Oakland, Macomb or Wayne County criminal or DUI case, you'll find us here to help, Monday through Friday, from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm (EST) at 586-465-1980 or 248-986-9700.